My voice cracked despite every effort to hold it steady.
But my eyes were clear as glass when I looked at him.
"My supervisor said I was wasting my looks. Said I can't even bring in enrollment numbers or investment."
He paused for a fraction of a second, then pulled me into his arms.
His tone was careless. Barely even trying.
"Forget that dead-end job. Just quit—I'll take care of you, okay?"
A chill spread from somewhere deep in my chest. I couldn't feel his warmth anymore.
A sudden ringtone shattered the eerie silence between us.
It was Herbert.
"Uncle, my mommy just fainted! She's at the hospital, and I don't have anywhere to go, and I haven't eaten, and I'm so hungry..."
The boy's tearful little voice sent Herman into a tailspin.
His brow furrowed.
"Don't be scared. I'm coming to get you right now!"
He was already moving—shoes on the wrong feet, a shirt snatched off the back of a chair—and then he was out the door.
He didn't look back until he was already in the hallway.
"Something came up with the kid. I need to go handle it."
Not long after he left, a new post appeared on Janet's social media. The photo had a hospital room in the background.